The First Night
by rommie
Summary: Harper & Beka talk after deciding to stay on the Andromeda (Post-'An Affirming Flame')


A/N: Takes place after 'An Affirming Flame'. Just a little scene I thought up a while ago when I rented the first 5 eps from the local video store. This was originally posted on Slipstream under the name 'Nari'.  
  
Rating is for very vague suggestive comments. But nothing worse than on the actual show.  
  
  
The First Night  
By Rommie  
  
"Boss?" Harper called softly as he walked onto the Maru. When he got no reply, he called a little louder. "Boss?"  
  
"Back here!" came Beka's irritated reply.  
  
Harper winced and headed towards the sound of her voice. He found himself outside the open door to her quarters. "Boss, I'm really sorry."  
  
Beka looked up at him in confusion. "For what?"  
  
"You know, saying I wanted to stay on the Andromeda."  
  
Beka smiled slightly. "Hey, I wanted to stay when you told me about the showers," she joked.  
  
"No you didn't. You wanted to leave and you still do," Harper said as he walked in and sat down on the edge of Beka's bed. "If you really wanna go, I'll come with you. Just... can we wait until this crap's totally gone?" he asked, gesturing at his neck. "The ship said if it didn't get treated, it would eat all my skin away. A week isn't so bad, is it?"  
  
Beka sighed and sat down next to Harper. "Do you remember a while back when I told you that you take care of me, so I'll take care of you?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, staying here... it's taking care of you. I don't want that stuff to kill you," she said, gesturing at his neck, "But if we leave it might. I don't want you getting killed by an exploding pipe or engine, but that could happen on the Maru. Staying here is better for you. And for me. Here, I don't have to worry about stuff as much. I can let Hunt deal with most of it. And I love Trance, but she can only do so much with the Maru's medical equipment. Here... maybe it won't take weeks for you to heal when you're a bonehead and you get hurt."  
  
Harper nodded and smiled slightly. "And now I have a HUGE ship, in good condition, to play around with."  
  
Beka shook her head, chuckling. "Yeah, I bet you want to play around with the computer!" she teased.  
  
Harper grinned and lightly elbowed Beka in the side. "You know what I meant! I get to do more complicated stuff! And there's an AI core to work with... it's a genuis' dream!"  
  
Beka slung her arm around Harper's shoulders. "Yeah, yeah, sure. And the AI being a gorgeous woman has nothing to do with it."  
  
Harper shrugged. "Okay, maybe that has SOMETHING to do with it..." he said with a grin. "If you change your mind, and want to go, tell me so I can make sure all my stuff is back on the Maru."  
  
"Even if I did leave, it doesn't mean you'd have to."  
  
"Yes, it does, Boss," Harper rpelied. "You once told me that we were our own weird little family. Rev and Trance are part of it, but you and me... we're the core, I think. I don't know what I'd do if you were suddenly gone. You were the first person, other than my parents, to take care of me and care what happened to me. I need you around to remind me to eat."  
  
Beka smiled and ruffled Harper's hair. "Well, I might ask the Andromeda to remind you about that, but I'm not about to ditch you, Shay."  
  
Harper returned the smile. "So, wanna help me pick quarters?"  
  
Beka nodded. "Let's go. I need to pick some for myself," she said. As they left Beka's room, she added "Exactly how big are the showers?"  
  
"Big enough that you could pick up a guy on a drift and have a little fun," Harper replied with a grin.  
  
"Don't try and use that as a pick up line with girls, Harper. It won't work," Beka said as she slung an arm around his shoulder. "You'll get slapped, and then slapped again, and then possibly arrested depending on the drift."  
  
The pair left the Maru, still laughing and teasing each other, ready to start their new lives on the Andromeda.  
  
THE END  
  
Not much, just a little something I thought of and wrote in about 10 minutes. lol  
  
Mara/Rommie/Nari 


End file.
